FROM THE PUBLISHER

E. E. Cummings is without question one of the major poems of this century, and this volume, first published in 1959, is indispensable for every lover of modern lyrical verse. It contains one hundred of Cummings's wittiest and most profound poems, harvested from thirty-five of the most radically creative years in contemporary American poetry. These poems exhibit all the extraordinary lyricism, playfulness, technical ingenuity, and compassion for which Cummings is famous. They demonstrate beautifully his extrapolations from traditional poetic structures and his departures from them, as well as the unique synthesis of lavish imagery and acute artistic precision that has won him the adulation and respect of critics and poetry lovers everywhere.

SYNOPSIS

This volume, first published in 1959, contains 100 of Cummings' wittiest and most profound poems, harvested from 35 of the most radically creative years in contemporary American poetry. These poems exhibit all the extraordinary lyricism, playfulness, technical ingenuity, and compassion for which Cummings is famous. They demonstrate beautifully his extrapolations from traditional poetic structures and his departures from them as well as the unique synthesis of lavish imagery and acute artistic precision that has won him the adulation and respect of critics and poetry lovers everywhere.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

He has more control over language since Joyce. . . .Everybody delights in reading him. — Karl Shapiro

E.E.. Cummings is a concentrate of titanic significance. . .He does not make aesthetic mistakes. — Marianne Moore